LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier didn’t hold back this week when he declared that Texas is the best high school football state in the country.
Born in Louisiana, Nussmeier played for Marcus High School (Flower Mound, Texas). He was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of high school.
The 2020 Under Armour All-America Game selection threw for over 5,000 yards combined during his sophomore and junior seasons at Marcus.
The comments from Nussmeier certainly see the quarterback wade into one of the great debates in American sports. The question of what state has the best high school talent is certainly a complicated one with many layers.
Texas is actually not the leader in sending players to the NFL on a per capita level and actually trails Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida in that regard.
Again, those numbers are per capita:
Homegrown in Utah: NFL player origins per capital, 2023 #UtahInformed2024 #utpol #NFL pic.twitter.com/HiN9Qn00sF
— Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute (@KemGardnerInst) January 29, 2024
But let’s be honest here, Nussmeier has a point. Texas high school football is intense and tough. There is no doubt that he was well-prepared for the SEC and LSU from his time playing ‘Friday Night Lights.’
Nussmeier and LSU will open their season in one of those states that claims to have the best high school football in the country with a Sept. 1 game at USC.
Last year Nussmeier got his first collegiate start in the Reliaquest Bowl against Wisconsin. In the bowl win, he went 31-of-45 for 395 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
